Spontaneous remission of acromegaly due to apoplexy

Abstract

Pituitary apoplexy is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by sudden onset of headache and vomiting, accompanied by visual disturbance or ocular motility impairment and pituitary insufficiency. Pituitary apoplexy presenting with these symptoms is seen in approximately 3% of patients with surgically treated pituitary adenomas. In acromegalic patients, apoplexy can be related to some provocating factors and rarely may be spontaneous. We present the case of an acromegalic patient with spontaneous remission after apoplexy. A 39-year-old male patient had transsphenoidal microsurgery for acromegaly in 1994 but remission was not achieved. After a 10-year period without follow-up, he experienced severe headache, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and visual disturbance in July 2005 and scheduled an appointment with an ophthalmologist. His complaints ceased spontaneously within weeks. In October 2005, sellar MRI examination revealed a 3x2.5 cm mass of adenomatous tissue with necrosis. On admission to our clinic in November 2005, visual acuity, visual fields, and ocular motility, were normal; but results of laboratory tests revealed panhypopituitarism. He was thought to have apoplexy of a growth hormone secreting tumor, and hormone replacement therapy was initiated for panhypopituitarism. Because his symptoms had regressed, surgery was not considered. On rare occasions, acromegaly spontaneously remits after apoplexy, resulting in improved control of the functional adenoma without surgical intervention.